In a competitive auction, Universal Pictures has landed the rights to Tanya Smith’s memoir “Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System—and Pocketed $40 Million,” with Janelle Monáe attached to star in the adaptation, the studio announced on Wednesday.
Monáe will produce through her Wondaland Pictures’ first look deal with Universal Pictures. Smith will executive produce.
This acquisition continues the trend of Universal Pictures’ high-profile book rights acquisitions, including Britney Spears’ New York Times bestselling memoir “The Woman in Me,” Colleen Hoover’s “Reminders of Him,” Percival Everett’s “James,” Stacey Abrams’ “Rules of Engagement” and Mark A. Bradley’s “Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America.”
According to the book’s official description, “A precocious genius turned mastermind of a $40 million heist, Tanya Smith’s explosive memoir ‘Never Saw Me Coming’ shatters every expectation of what a brilliant criminal looks like. Named an Amazon Editor’s Pick, Barnes & Noble Best Non-Fiction of 2024, Apple’s Best Audiobook of 2024, and one of The New York Times Best Books of the Summer, this pulse-pounding true story will leave you breathless.”
“Smith’s journey from teenage hacker—who playfully snagged Michael Jackson’s private number—to financial system mastermind begins with a daring $5,000 transfer into her grandmother’s account, By eighteen, she had already orchestrated a series of sophisticated heists, amassing millions while staying two steps ahead of the law.”
“When the FBI finally cornered her, they refused to believe a Black woman could be the architect of such sophisticated crimes, smugly asserting ‘these are not the kind of crimes Black people are smart enough to commit.’ Their racist assumption became Smith’s fuel. She responded by orchestrating an even more audacious scheme—systematically outsmarting federal agents while building a $40 million empire of cash, diamonds and gold bars. But her success attracted deadly enemies, and soon Smith found herself dodging both bullets and badges.”
“Branded ‘one of the single biggest threats to the entire United States banking system,’ Smith faced down the longest white-collar sentence in history. Yet even behind bars, her brilliant legal mind couldn’t be contained. She mounted her own defense and won her freedom, proving once again that underestimating her was everyone’s biggest mistake. Now in development to be adapted for a major Hollywood film, ‘Never Saw Me Coming’ transcends the typical heist story to become a powerful examination of systemic prejudice, economic inequality, and the extraordinary potential of those society too often dismisses.”
Senior Vice President of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Development Tony Ducret will oversee the project for the Studio.
Smith is repped by attorney Mitchell Ostrove at Yorn Levine. Monáe is repped by Wondaland Management, WME, ID PR ,Ben Rubenfield at Ziffren and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
